If you’ve been in an abusive relationship, Kelce’s sideline meltdown was familiar | Opinion

Kelce’s meltdown

Anyone who has lived with an abusive boyfriend or girlfriend, or even abusive parents or friends, knows this routine. There are no excuses for Travis Kelce’s sideline outburst during the Super Bowl or the aggression he directed at coach Andy Reid. Anyone who doesn’t think it’s wrong can bring it.

In my experience, if you wait long enough people will show you who they are. You just have to be open and willing to see it.

I realize there are going to be some that say, “Well, it was the Super Bowl! Heat of the moment. Whatever excuse.” But this is the time you should be at your best, not your worst.

C’mon! Everyone’s watching! Especially the kids.

What a despicable example Kelce set. Especially for Taylor Swift’s fan base. Young women look up to you — and how you treat people.

Heidi Taylor, Grand Coulee

Keep our Care Act

As a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), I focus on access to reproductive health care. Patients deserve care in a system with the providers who make them comfortable. Denying access to abortion care in their healthcare system places these patients at risk.

Abortion is very safe, but patients are not their procedures. They may have other physical or psychological needs, and a hospital merger should not impede quick and affordable care. People with mental illness and other trauma deserve better.

Sometimes patients are referred outside a healthcare system when hospitals suddenly refuse to offer all reproductive services due to a merger, but patient referrals can stop altogether depending on the policies of the new organization. This can complicate access to a provider, and force patience to navigate the process alone.

There can also be increased financial burdens of travel, childcare, lodging and increased costs of care. This puts essential health care out of reach for many.

Any unchecked hospital merger can create unnecessary delays, costs and hurdles that harm patients.

The bottom line is that patients need to access care in the healthcare arena that fits all of their needs.

The state Legislature should pass the Keep Our Care Act this session.

Ashley Fedan, Lakewood

UPS player makes history

Great to see The News Tribune reporting on local college sports, even Lily Godwin’s historic tackle had to make the national news before the paper did.

I would start reading the TNT more if there were more on the local college teams, like the University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran.

John Wohn, Tacoma

Kids and smartphones

We know how to protect kids. We forbid them from having access to alcohol until they are 21. We prevent them from driving until they are 16. Given the known damage to children’s mental health and risks of self-harm and even suicide, we need to protect children from social media as well.

Children should be prevented by law from having access to smart phones until they have reached a certain age, maybe 18 years old? Psychiatrists are perhaps the best ones to choose an appropriate age for access.

Children could be permitted to have simple phones, allowing them to call their parents and each other, but they should be prevented from having access to smart phones and social media until they have finished normal social development.

Let’s protect our children.

John Selby, Gig Harbor

This story was originally published February 12, 2024 at 11:39 AM.